Bangladesh after '71: Experts make a plea to overcome the legacy of mutual distrust

Bangladesh after '71: Experts make a plea to overcome the legacy of mutual distrust

In the turbulent history of South Asia, the birth of nations has always
been marked with bloodshed and bitterness. Exactly 25 years ago on
December 16, 1971, amidst pain and anger Bangladesh came into being.
Many thought it would herald a new era of lndia-led peace and prosperity
in the region. But a quarter century of increasing tension has proved
otherwise. Marking this anniversary, an Indian and a Bangladeshi - both
experts in foreign affairs - make a plea for overcoming the legacy of
mutual distrust through a process of give and take.

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December 31, 1996

ISSUE DATE: December 31, 1996

UPDATED: June 12, 2013 11:00 IST

In the turbulent history of South Asia, the birth of nations has always
been marked with bloodshed and bitterness. Exactly 25 years ago on
December 16, 1971, amidst pain and anger Bangladesh came into being.
Many thought it would herald a new era of lndia-led peace and prosperity
in the region. But a quarter century of increasing tension has proved
otherwise. Marking this anniversary, an Indian and a Bangladeshi - both
experts in foreign affairs - make a plea for overcoming the legacy of
mutual distrust through a process of give and take.

Eric Gonsalves

Time to be generousThe year 1971 saw a famous victory won against considerable odds. Bangladesh's independence was achieved. India's contribution was to make this process much less painful in human lives and economic destruction and much quicker in time. A brilliant diplomatic campaign enabled the armed forces to execute an equally brilliant military operation.

Some wishful thinkers in India saw Delhi being restored as the centre of power it had been in Mughal and British days. Many more hoped that with the Simla Agreement progressive normalisation would come to the subcontinent. None of this happened or could have happened. It has taken us more than two decades to put some life into the SAARC structures by realising that cooperation pays more than competition. The 1971 war restored to the Indian armed forces the morale lost in 1962 and not quite regained in 1965.

However, the overall strategic situation did not improve. Pakistan gained militarily by becoming smaller and more cohesive. Its involvement in Afghanistan enabled its armed forces and intelligence agencies to acquire new methodologies of cross border low-intensity conflict which have been used most effectively in Punjab and Kashmir. Having to defend a vulnerable eastern wing may not have allowed so adventurous a policy. The Indian armed forces, on the other hand, took much longer to realise the need for new military doctrines as their experience in Sri Lanka shows.

India is no longer a regional bully threatening the culture and economy of its neighbours.

The honeymoon period after Bangladesh's liberation was short-lived. India's generosity in settling the new nation on its feet was soured somewhat by the predatory behaviour of some entrepreneurs. It became clear that Bangladesh had to depend on the international community to shore up its economy. With Mujib's assassination and military rule, the distance widened except for a brief interlude during the Janata period.

This is in keeping with the development of the state system in South Asia. Nascent states found an Indian threat and anti-Indian rhetoric an effective way to generate a sense of nationhood. Some burning problems have disappeared, some are resolved as self-confidence grows, and new generations with no bitter memories are replacing their elders.

Economic pressures from globalisation and reforms and the disappearance of Cold War political patronage have forced all South Asian governments, except Pakistan, to recognise that expediting regional cooperation is in their interest. Unfortunately, India has been dragging its feet in responding to this situation.

As the largest member of the South Asian system, India has to show generosity and openness in bilateral problems. With Bangladesh this could have been much more in evidence. It took 10 years for a minor agreement on transit arrangements to Bangladesh's enclave through Tin Bigha to be implemented.

End of the '71 war: an uneasy beginning

Economic cooperation has to go hand in hand with the removal of barriers to all exchanges. Few of them make much sense. India is no longer a regional bully threatening the culture and economy of its neighbours. The large adverse trade balance must be addressed by planned production in Bangladesh for the Indian and South Asian markets, using Indian and foreign capital and technology.

And it is no zero sum game. Development of the Bangladesh economy will help reduce the nagging problem of migration. We should cooperate in sectors such as transport and energy as it will pay rich dividends.

There is light at the end of the tunnel of the only really serious problem still to be resolved - the sharing of river waters. Ultimately the subcontinent's problems will not be solved by partisan politics but by national consensus and eventually regional too.

(Eric Gonsalves is a former secretary of the Union Ministry of External Affairs.)

Kamal Hossain

Think RegionalI can recall the exhilaration that was shared by the people of India and Bangladesh on December 16, 1971 which marked the victory of our liberation struggle. A basic premise that was implicit in our thinking was that the emergence of sovereign Bangladesh had opened up the prospect for building a new state of relations among the countries of the subcontinent, based on stability, friendship and cooperation.

It is with sadness that one notes some of the missed opportunities, and the time that we have lost, in moving towards that new order. Although from 1972 onwards the imperative of evolving such a framework was recognised in formal announcements, there have been significant setbacks towards that goal.

After obtaining the clemency of war criminals, Pakistan began to manifest intransigence with regard to Bangladesh's claims for its share of assets and for accepting back a few hundred thousand persons, who regarded themselves as Pakistani citizens and had opted to go to Pakistan.

The Indian nuclear test saw Pakistan launching an intensive adversarial campaign, which would further retard progress. It thus took nearly a decade for SAARC to be launched. The assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujeebur Rahman in August 1975 saw the defeated forces of 1971 attempting a restoration.

The challenge of the coming decades in Bangladesh is an expanding population and labour force.

Their stock-in-trade was to vilify the previous government by charging that in its relation with India it had impaired the sovereignty of Bangladesh. Part of their long-term strategy was to revive communalism, which had been decisively rejected by the people of Bangladesh in 1971.

When an issue, such as the problem of sharing the waters of river Ganges arose, in the context of the commissioning of the Farakka barrage, it gave to those forces an issue they could exploit. This issue was also to rouse emotions in all sections of the people.

The intensity of the nationalism which gave birth to Bangladesh meant that Bengalis, even those who actively cooperated with India in the course of the liberation struggle, were to be very sensitive about relations with India. Every agreement and every scheme for cooperation was to be viewed with caution lest in some way it should yield advantage to India at the cost of Bangladesh. An early and constructive resolution of the Ganges water sharing issue, which is now expected, would contribute significantly in paving the way towards all - round cooperation

The challenge of the coming decades in Bangladesh is presented by an expanding population and labour force. This calls for a significant expansion in employment and investment opportunities which could be generated within a framework of multi-dimensional regional, and in particular sub-regional cooperation.

Geographical realities and resource endowments point to significant benefits which could result to all the partners from a sub-regional framework of cooperation in the North-eastern sub-region of South Asia comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and the North-eastern areas of India.

A multi-model transport system built around the deep water ports could be developed in Bangladesh for the benefit of all. A coordinated approach to the harnessing of renewable and non-renewable sources of energy - the hydro-electric potential of Bhutan and Nepal, the natural gas of Bangladesh, the coal and other energy resources in North-eastern India - points to the gains from cooperation.

Meanwhile, water resources of the major river basins in the sub-region call for shared use which is ecologically sound and optimises benefits for the people. I believe a shared commitment to sustainable development for the peoples of the sub-region - children, women and men - would stimulate innovative strategies for the development of human resources and new technologies and patterns of trade.

(Kamal Hossain, a barrister, was Bangladesh's first foreign minister.)

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